Old Bill Meets Uncle Sam

‘GIVEN the American police’s philosophy of ‘shoot first, don’t bother to ask questions later’, it was only a matter of time before we started recruiting from the other side of the Atlantic.

Rodney King was a great fan of US-style no tolerance policing

As part of David Blunkett’s plan to make himself the most unpopular Home Secretary since, er, Jack Straw, he is proposing that foreign police chiefs could be invited to become chief constables in Britain.

”Among the countries being looked at for recruitment,” says the Times, ”are the United States – reforms in New York, which led to better crime-fighting and management, have already been adopted in Britain – and Scandinavian nations.”

But the plan will meet with fierce opposition, says the paper.

Dr Ruth Henig, chairman of the Association Of Police Authorities, says that she would be surprised if someone from a Scandinavian country would have the experience to run a big rural force in Britain.

But what of the Yanks? Zero tolerance is likely to prove a two-way street…